Untere Wolayeralm - Mahderkopf (via Wolayerseehütte)

Access to starting point:
We drive into the Gailtal valley in Austria, where we drive towards the settlement Šmohor / Hermagor. Further, we drive on a wide road which leads us through the Gailtal valley. At the place Mauthen we continue left in the direction of the mountain pass Plöckenpass, and after a few 100 m right in the direction of the Lesachtal valley. Further, we drive on a narrower and quite winding road which we follow to the spot where a road branches off to the left towards the village Wodmaier. The road soon above the village loses the asphalt covering, and at the next crossroads we follow it in the direction of the lake Wolayer See. We then follow this usually bad and occasionally quite steep road to the parking lot on the mountain pasture Untere Wolayeralm.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the forest road closed to traffic, which soon starts to ascend more steeply. The fairly panoramic and serpentine road then brings us higher to the beautiful waterfall Hildenfall.
After the waterfall, the road passes into a belt of sparse forest and flattens a bit higher, crosses a pasture fence and after a few minutes of further walking brings us to the mountain pasture Obere Wolayeralm, on which stands a somewhat larger shepherd's hut (to here we need 1.5 hours).
From the mountain pasture where livestock grazes in summer, we continue on a somewhat worse mountain road, which after a short ascent brings us into a beautiful high mountain cirque. At the end of the cirque, the road turns slightly to the right and ascends more steeply. We then follow this road (higher also on the marked path) to the mountain hut at Lake Wolayer See.
From the mountain hut, we continue left on the marked path in the direction of the summit Rauchkofel. The path, which first ascends gently, quickly stands "upright" and continues ascending over relatively steep grassy slopes. The path flattens higher and turns slightly to the left, where it then brings us to a swampy area, where we leave the marked path leading to Rauchkofel and continue left on a poorly visible little path, which further descends slightly over extensive grassy slopes. The path soon passes onto an indistinct ridge, where it starts to gradually disappear. We continue on and along the mentioned ridge, which brings us with beautiful views to a small watering hole for animals. Only a short descent follows, then the "path" starts ascending again. We follow this poorly visible path, which further ascends moderately, all the way to the summit Mahderkopf.
Starting point - Wolayer See 2:15, Wolayer See - Mahderkopf 1:30.

Along the route: Obere Wolayeralm (1709m), The lake Wolayer See (1951m)

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